Chairman Bilirakis' Opening Statement at CMT Hearing on Online Dangers to Children

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to today's subcommittee hearing to examine risks to Americans uh safety online. Uh, today's hearing is an incredible, it really is extremely important folks, and I'm thankful we are hitting the ground early this Congress to protect ourselves from uh and our children more importantly, uh, from dangers uh in the online world. Technology has created a wonderful tool to gather information and connect us to the world. But with every new great tool, malicious actors have found a way to refigure technology to spread malice and harm people across the globe. While Congress has looked to build walls preventing these harms from occurring. We have failed to keep pace with technology. Take for example the important work Congress did to combat sexual exploitation of children. When Congress first worked on this issue, it was hard to imagine artificial intelligence could be used to create fake, but lifelike nonconsensual intimate images of children. Worse still, it was hard to imagine anyone so vile who would actually do it. But today, This detestable people are extorting children with technology, creating these images, and uploading them online for the world to see. And it doesn't stop with deep fakes either. Criminals are masking themselves as friends or romantic partners. To solicit intimate, authentic images of children and ransoming. These images for a quick buck totestable, as I said, uh, the main, uh, the pain these children experience is hard. And it breaks my heart, and I know it breaks your hearts too. We've got to do something about it. You ought to thank you for your work at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And for providing your expertise. We appreciate you so very much. Thanks for being here. Um Again, you're doing God's work. I'm looking forward to your testimony. And why Congress must act immediately to stop this abhorrent. Practice. Congress must take a holistic approach to establish protections online. Which is why, that's why I'm so proud to see many of our members working on different mechanisms to protect our children. I, for one, am eager to move the ball forward on the kids online Safety Act, and I know Representative Castor is as well. While this is not a legislative hearing, I'm hoping we can use this hearing to improve the legislation and enact a law that provides parents with the tools they need, while also targeting illegal content from every uh ever making its way to children's screens in the first place. Parents know their children the best. So we must adequately equip them with the tools they need to protect their families. Unfortunately, it is, it is clear the existing tools do not work. I'm tired of hearing big tech insist that solutions are already in place when it is clear they are not working, and it's true, they're not working. No more excuses for folks. We have to fix this. We have to hold big tech accountable. The very companies that have positioned themselves as the gatekeepers of our children's. online safety continue to let us down, as I said. Don and Claire, thank you for being here to share your experiences and your commitment to driving real change. This hearing should not be partisan. It is far too important of any issue, uh, to use a political, this is not a political circus, folks. We've gotta save our kids. Whatever it takes, we must save our children. Many of us here today have introduced or are working on legislation to build protections from harms online. This is not a partisan issue, as I said before, and it impacts everyone of our districts, and I know there are members here that will share stories, and I have one here. In 2022, McKenna Brown, a 16 year old from the Tampa Bay area, tragically took her alive after being victimized by cyberbullying through multiple social media apps and text messages. McKinnis Parents knew none of this until it was too late. Since then, her mother Sheryl has been an advocate for change, urging lawmakers to give parents the tools necessary to keep the kids safe. I understand there are similarly situated parents here in the audience. Thank you so very much uh for coming, and I want to recognize your own stories, efforts, and commitment to protect children from online safety. So I do have other comments, but uh I don't want to run over. We are gonna stick to the time, um, and uh I'm gonna recognize now the ranking member from the great state of Illinois for her minutes.